Opinion: Cops, yes, jail no -- logical disconnect may be a statement on confidence in City Hall

Kudos to city of Flint voters for overwhelmingly approving the continuation of a 2-mill police services tax. This tariff was clearly understood by voters to mean community policing, and by policing, that meant 15 police officers. Men and women in uniform defending them, their property and their neighborhoods.

But the failure of an additional 2-mill tax to reopen the city jail to lodge misdemeanor offenders prompts a few immediate reactions.

First, perhaps voters didn't fully understand that open jail cells are a fundamental and necessary part of attacking the out-of-control crime problem in Flint. There already are cops -- city and state police officers -- available to break up fights, intercept burglars, arrest scrap scavengers, bust prostitutes. But without room at the county jail for these "lesser" criminals, the police are reduced to writing appearance tickets.

A few taunts from scofflaws who receive these tickets are enough negative reinforcement to dissuade police from interceding in these crimes. Are they the worst thing going down at any given time in Flint? No, but they are contribute mightily to the very real and justified feelings of insecurity in our neighborhoods, and they are a powerful detriment to development efforts for the city.

Perhaps voters "didn't understand" the connection between the need for jail cells and the reduction of crime. That understanding helped propel the passage today of a five-year sheriff's department millage in adjacent Saginaw County, where violent crimes have dropped 33 percent year over year as police have aggressively jailed offenders.

But in Flint, that answer would not only seem condescending, but would also veer over the line into naivete. Politics, alliances and factions are always in the forefront. Let's not forget that Mayor Dayne Walling originally proposed two tax proposals for city police services; the city council balked, and the tax to reopen the jail was born as a compromise.

Even as a compromise, the jail tax initiative became a central component of Walling's vision of righting the city. Even if it was brilliantly, obviously logical, any plan of any mayor in Flint faces a political storm. Face it, 30 folks already are lining up to run for Walling's seat; Why wouldn't the people's vote on something so central to the incumbent's platform be considered a referendum?

Maybe it's not. Maybe voters just missed the need for more jail cells in the overall equation to fight crime. Maybe they feel this was one tax too many. Maybe they just identify more concretely with a cop in a uniform, driving down their streets.

But maybe the last votes cast tonight in the city of Flint police tax proposals were also the opening salvos in this summer's mayoral race. That may seem a tad dramatic ... in most any other city.

But this is Flint, where even a half-measure -- like tonight's incongruous approval of more cops who will not arrest more people -- is full of import.